Share |

Babysitting Pay: What's Fair?What's Competitive?

Friday, May 20, 2011

Parents need a little getaway time every now and then, so sometime, they're likely to need a baby sitter. What you'll pay in babysitter rates is impacted by several things, especially if you're not just having your brother or sister do the sitting. Standard rates are based off of the general pay you'd give to an outsourced sitter, naturally.



There is a significant difference between babysitters and nannies. One of the many differences is the price, since baby sitters are shorter term. A nanny is paid upwards of $8/hr for almost $400/week, but a baby sitter (standard pay) is around $15/hr. If you had a baby sitter as long as a nanny, you'd be paying astronomical rates. Also, baby sitters are only there for a few hours of supervision, rather than complete child care, like a second mother/father.

As previously mentioned, there are several factors that affect the cost of a baby sitter. A baby sitter should be paid more if they are watching several children as oppose to one. Their pay will also depend on their experience in baby sitting and how old the sitter is. On top of that, it depends on where the baby sitter is doing the sitting (such a as a big city instead of a suburban setting).

A sitter will also be paid differently if they're around more or less often. If you know you'll need a sitter three days out of every week, then you can get away with paying a little less since it's a guaranteed job for them. Sitters that only watch children every now and then will want more pay since it's shorter term and not guaranteed. The difference could be twice or half as much as their normal rate.

Regardless of whether you have a baby sitter around long or short term, they're still not considered a nanny. As mentioned above, the length of the supervision isn't what makes a nanny or a sitter, but what they do is. A sitter isn't there to act like a parent in the absence of one, they're only a just-in-case measure.

There are countless other factors that affect babysitter rates. Every baby sitter is different and is likely to charge different than the one before, especially for special-case scenarios (like watching over a newborn). What you want them to do could affect the overall cost and should be brought up with them ahead of time.

0 comments: